Thankful for small favors
by Cora Summers
Summary: AU-ish. Olivia is NOT a detective. Alex is new to SVU and is starting to think maybe she isn't cut out for it. This feeling made worse as she realizes her case is quickly spiraling out of control. She considers giving it up, a mysterious person helps. A/O


The characters are the property of Dick Wolf and NBC.

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Thankful for Small Favors

Alex Cabot sat in her office and sighed. Again. What made her think that she could do this? Oh that's right. She wasn't thinking about the case content when she was offered the position. She was only thinking about how much notoriety this would bring her. She laughed cynically at herself with that thought. Sure this would make her name known. As the ADA who lasted for the Special Victims Unit for the shortest amount of time.

To top everything else off, it was looking very much like she was going to lose her first case. Edgar Linton was arrested for raping and murdering six women. She could tell in her gut that the bastard was guilty, but the SVU detectives were having trouble finding the little bit of evidence that would prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Maybe her life would be easier if she just gave it all up and went to go work for some high powered defense firm. It would probably make her life a hell of a lot easier.

Still contemplating her options, she was startled out of her thoughts by the ringing of the telephone. Answering the phone, Alex noticed the slowly opening door. Seeing it was the night custodian, she didn't pay them much mind.

"Cabot." Alex answered. "Hi, Serena…Not so good…It's just that I don't think I'm cut out for this…Sure White Collar would be great, but you know I don't do easy…Because I didn't think it would be this hard…Maybe I'll take Trevor up on his offer of a position at his firm. At least then I won't have to worry about whether or not my client is guilty…I know…I promise not to make any rash decisions just yet…Sounds good. I'll see you later this week…Bye Serena." She hung up the phone and heard the door click shut again. Looking at the clock, Alex realized it was already after eight. She decided she had put in enough work for today and packed up to go home.

She left her office, making sure the door was locked, and walked down the hall towards the elevators. Lost in thoughts of her professional future, she missed the person at the other end of the hallway staring at her.

Two weeks later, Alex stormed into her office in a near rage. She had just come from chambers and a motion to suppress what little evidence she had. The Defense had stated that the Detectives violated the grounds the search. What made it worse was he won. Her position in the SVU was already shaky. Now she had to go and explain to her detectives why they had no case.

Finally she had come to a decision. She would meet with Arthur tomorrow and inform him of her resignation. She picked her attaché case back up and left. All she wanted to do right now was go home, open a bottle of wine, and relax in a hot bath. Her problems could wait until the morning.

That was the plan at least. Hours later, Alex found herself back at the office. In her haste to leave, she had forgotten her laptop. She would need it if she was going to draft her letter of resignation. She walked over to her desk and went to grab the small computer when an obscenely white envelope propped up against it. The computer forgotten, Alex took the envelope and relieved it of its contents. Inside there were pictures, a video tape, and a short letter.

_The world has enough slime ball defense attorneys. We don't need another. If asked, the information and evidence came from a Confidential Informant. Good luck with the case.  
O.B._

After reading the letter, Alex picked up the pictures and looked through them. In each one she could see a different woman, gagged and bound, looking terrified. She could also see the right side of another person in the room. There was a small tattoo on the forearm. It might have been small, but Alex would have recognized it anywhere. She had seen it the day they brought Linton in to be questioned.

She set the pictures aside and turned her attention to the video. Without only a small hesitation, she brought it over to the television and V.C.R. she kept in her office. She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to actually watch it. She grabbed the remote and prepared to fast forward. When the video started to play, she silently thanked the greediness of rapists and their need for a souvenir. The video showed the actual murder taking place and an undeniable view of Edgar Linton's face.

Alex rushed back to her desk and made a call to the SVU squad room. It was still before nine and the odds of a detective still being there were great. Her instincts were right.

"Stabler."

"Detective Stabler, if it's possible I need you and the other detectives still at the precinct and stop by my office. There's something you need to see." After hearing Elliot say he would be right there and getting the attention of his fellow detectives, Alex hung up with a smile on her face. Maybe she didn't need to talk to Branch after all. The next thing she had to figure out was who the CI that went by the initials OB?


End file.
